This bus-stop has shifted 8 times in 8 months!

This bus-stop has shifted 8 times in 8 months!
Deccan Herald

Would you believe if one narrated a story about a bus stop that moved? If you can’t, then come down to the Commissariat Road near Mayo Hall. And the story of the moving bus stop will unfold by itself.

The bus stop on this half a kilometre road is said to have been shifted nearly eight times, in just eight months! And there is proof to support the story of the shifting bus stop.

At present, the BMTC bus stop is opposite the Garuda Mall. And it is said to have made this journey past the Bangalore Central and Shobha Pearls complex to the present location in front of the Home Stop complex. But even as you walk to this bus stop from Bangalore Central, you see traces of the older stops in the form of ‘No Parking’ boards all along.

For people who are employed in offices on MG Road and surrounding areas, and who have to head to other parts of the City this would be the nearest stop.

But with the constant shift, people are forced to walk longer in order to reach it.

That apart, there is also no proper shelter at the new stop. Commuters also have to stand over a drain, putting up with the stench and the flies and mosquitoes.

But what’s the cause for the frequent shift? It is said that the commercial centres had put pressure on the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) to get the stops shifted — they reportedly felt that bus stops and the waiting commuters did not add to their image.

“Commissariat Road is a road of small width. If many buses come around here at the same time, they would have to stand one behind the other. This results in a traffic jam, causing inconvenience to the public. That’s why we shifted the bus stop,” a traffic police constable at Garuda Mall said.

But the eighth shift may not be the last one. People fear that the bus stop may slowly shift towards the bus stop on Residency Road or even join the one near Baldwins School. For it is said that two commercial complexes are already trying to get the stop shifted elsewhere.

When contacted, queries addressed to the area Corporator (Ward 76) Jabeen Taj elicited answers from her husband instead. “Thanks to heavy traffic, we have had to shift the bus stop every now and then. But we have submitted a petition to the BMTC authorities in this regard. They, in turn, assured us that the stop will remain in front of Garuda Mall. The bus shelter and seats will come up in just a month’s time,” he said.